Italy Vows to Join INSTEX Financial Channel to Bypass Anti-Iran Sanctions

During the Thursday meeting in Rome, Manlio Di Stefano said that Italy was interested in the EU's trade mechanism and was considering the details to join it, stressing the importance of the nuclear deal and the need for the signatories to fulfill their obligations.

"We are focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises, and we want to provide aid for the Italian companies willing to cooperate with Iran and based on this, the best way to support the companies is through the INSTEX mechanism," Di Stefano added.

Ansari, for his part, stressed the need for the nuclear agreement's sides to fulfill their commitments and called the formation of the financial mechanism, INSTEX, as a practical measure in line with the commitments of the European parties.

Ansari also expressed hope that by joining other business parties such as Italy to this mechanism, the trade process of two countries will return to the previous trend. 

He also stressed the importance of paying attention to small and medium-sized enterprises, and described as vital their role in developing economic relations between the two key countries. 

On Wednesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi once again called on the European states to speed up efforts and adopt more serious measures to implement their proposed INSTEX mechanism to develop trade with Tehran.

"Of course, this mechanism has just started and we do not yet know how it wants to work and how much it can resolve the problems and therefore, expert discussions are needed. Of course, the Europeans presented this mechanism very late and we demand them to enter the scene more seriously," Araqchi said before starting a meeting with the European states on INSTEX in Vienna. 

He noted that the US sanctions have created many obstacles to implement the INSTEX but the important point is that the remaining members of the 2015 nuclear deal (Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) enjoy political will to confront these obstacles.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, Araqchi called on the European Union to take more serious measures for implementation of the INSTEX, and said that Tehran expected the EU to pay for facilitating trade with Iran.

"Tehran expects the Europeans to pace up the implementation of the mechanism to show their commitment to Iran’s nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," Araqchi said in a meeting with German Foreign Office's Director for Relations with the Middle East and North Africa Phillip Ackermann in Tehran.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister also called on Germany and other European countries to accelerate implementation of the INSTEX.

Ackermann, for his part, once again expressed the German government’s support for preservation of JCPOA.

He said despite Washington's unification with Europe, Germany was opposed to the US’ unilateral actions and re-imposition of sanctions against the Islamic republic.

In a news meeting in Bucharest in January, German, British and French foreign ministers officially announced the commissioning of the European special financial mechanism known as INSTEX.